How to set auto reply in WhatsApp.
An auto reply answers a customer the moment they message you, even when you cannot. The free WhatsApp Business app has three built in, and for a lot of businesses they are enough. This guide sets up all three, gives you messages to copy, and is honest about the point where one fixed message stops being an answer.
The three auto replies built into WhatsApp Business
All three live under Business tools in the WhatsApp Business app. They need the Business app, not regular WhatsApp, and it is free.
- greeting message
- Sends one fixed message automatically to somebody who messages you for the first time, or again after 14 days of silence.
- away message
- Sends one fixed message automatically while you are closed. You choose when: always, outside your business hours, or on a schedule you set.
- quick replies
- Saved replies you insert with a tap while typing. Nothing sends by itself; these save typing, not attention.
Step 1: Turn on the greeting message
In WhatsApp Business, open Business tools, then Greeting message. Switch it on, write the message, and choose who receives it. The default, everyone, is usually right.
WhatsApp treats anyone who has not messaged you in 14 days as new again, so returning customers see your greeting too. Write it so it reads fine the second time. A greeting that works hard does two things: tells them when to expect a real reply, and invites their question now so you can answer the moment you pick up the phone.
Step 2: Turn on the away message
Business tools, then Away message. The schedule is the part worth a minute of thought. You can send it always, on a custom schedule, or outside the business hours on your profile. Outside business hours is the honest one: it promises a reply when you open, and you are actually there when it says you are.
Say when you reply, not just that you are away. There is a real difference between silence and a message that says tomorrow at 9am. The first loses leads to whoever answers next; the second buys you the night.
Step 3: Save your quick replies
Business tools, then Quick replies. These are not automatic: while typing, you type a slash and pick one, and the saved text drops in. Save the five things you type every day. For a property agent that is usually the location pin, the price list answer, the viewing slots, the booking steps, and the polite chaser.
Auto reply messages you can copy
Starting points, not scripture. Edit the hours and the promises to match what you actually do, because an auto reply that promises a callback nobody makes is worse than none.
- Greeting, for a property enquiry
- Hi! Thanks for reaching out about the project. I’m with a client right now, but send me your questions and I’ll reply as soon as I’m free. If it’s urgent, let me know and I’ll call you back.
- Greeting, general business
- Hello, and thanks for messaging us. We reply within working hours, usually inside the hour. Drop your question below and we’ll get back to you shortly.
- Away, outside working hours
- Thanks for your message. We’re closed for the day and will reply when we open tomorrow at 9am. If you’d like a callback, leave your name and the best time to reach you.
- Away, weekend
- Hi, we’re off for the weekend. Your message is saved and we’ll come back to you first thing Monday. Have a good one.
Where the built-in auto reply stops
The built-in tools send one fixed message. That is the whole design, and it is why they are free and take ten minutes. It is also a hard ceiling:
- It sends the same message no matter what the customer wrote. Somebody asking for the price and somebody asking for directions get the identical reply.
- It sends once, then stops. If the customer goes quiet after your greeting, nothing follows up.
- It cannot ask a question and act on the answer. There is no way to sort serious buyers from casual askers.
- It cannot answer anything. A lead who asks three questions at midnight still has three unanswered questions in the morning.
If your WhatsApp is where leads arrive, that ceiling is expensive. The fix is an auto reply that behaves like a conversation instead of a note on the door: a flow. A flow sends a sequence, asks questions and branches on the answers, follows up by itself when somebody goes quiet, and hands the chat to you the moment it should. On this product it also answers questions from material you loaded, in English, Malay or Chinese, and never invents a price.
Click through the live demo to see one answering, or read the flow guide to build your own.
And if what you were actually shopping for is a tool to message a cold list, read the WhatsApp blast guide first: the risk lives on your number, not the tool.
Start with the built-in ones today.
They are free and better than silence. When your leads deserve more than one fixed message, the upgrade is here.
Start the 30 day free trial